A Sweet Misfortune by Maggie Brendan

A Sweet Misfortune is the second in Maggie Brendan’s Virtues and Vices of the Old West series. However, this could easily be read as a stand alone book.

Mrs. Brendan does a wonderful job of weaving the timeless story of finding one’s true desires with memorable characters that you can relate to. While not a fact paced, action packed novel, it is a sweet romance that keeps you turning the pages.

While Rachel is indeed a spunky, independent heroine, she also is subdued and deals realistically with the challenges of being a former dance hall girl and sudden dependence on a family she can never repay.

John is a take action man whose ambition for more land and wealth leads him to overlook the biggest opportunity in front of him. There are many times you want to smack him on the forehead and ask him, “Really?” Even so, he is a sweet, caring man who makes a wonderful hero.

The secondary characters are great in their roles. You instantly fall in love with Grams and grind your teeth in aggravation at Beatrice.

I recommend picking up a copy and reading A Sweet Misfortune.

Rachel Matthews isn’t one to rely on others to take care of her. Destitute and alone, she still wants to make her own way and her own money–even if she’s forced into the life of a dance hall girl. Horrified by her circumstances, Rachel’s brother sends a friend–the widely admired cattle baron John McIntyre–to rescue her, then sets off to earn enough money to buy back the family ranch. But when months pass without her brother’s return, Rachel isn’t sure she can take one more day in John McIntyre’s home–especially once she discovers that he’s the one who holds the deed to her family’s ranch.

Sparks fly between this spunky, independent heroine and the ruggedly handsome hero as they navigate the snarled terrain of pride, greed, faith, and love in Maggie Brendan’s delightful series set in the Old West.